Mini Pork Pies With Cherry Compote

Mini Pork Pies With Cherry Compote

      I am sure many of you have heard of pork pies. Those little hand held pies filled with savory meats and other ingredients including different vegetables if you want. Typically seen in British and Irish cuisines, these little meals are usually made with fresh hand formed crusts and usually a sort of gelatin is poured in on top to keep all ingredients formed, however I chose to make a short cut and used store bought pie crust and withheld the gelatin to make things a bit easier. These were just as good and even better the next day for a lunch snack served chilled. Mini Pork Pies With Cherry Compote

Ingredients:

• 1/2 diced white onion
• 1 lb ground pork
• 5 strips of bacon diced into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 2 sage leaves diced
• Pinch nutmeg
• fresh cherries
• Tart cherry jam
• 1 round store bought bake at home pie crust

1. Roll out room temperature pie crust and cut into large circles to fit a mini muffin tin. Also cut out circles to cover the tops of each pie. Form into the pie tin. Typically makes enough for 9 mini pies.

2. In a large skillet over medium high heat sauté onions until translucent. Toss in the ground pork and cut up bacon slices.

3. Mix in thyme, sage, and nutmeg. Stir until all meat is browned and fully cooked.

4. Press meat mixture into individual pies. Press a circle lid over each pie and poke a small hole in the center with a chopstick.

5. Brush with a little egg wash and bake for roughly 30-45 minutes until crust is golden brown. 

6. Meanwhile take fresh cherries and some cherry jam and mix together. You can crush the cherries or dice them up. Serve on top of each little pie. Enjoy!

These were delicious. I even enjoyed them more so the next day for a little lunch snack. 

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 2+

Banger and Mash Hand Pie

 

Banger and Mash Hand Pie

      I was craving something simple and yet slightly Irish/English that I could easily make. I have always loved Bangers and Mash but didn't feel like having the traditional sit down meal. This is one of the perfect weeknight meals that you can whip up in a hurry for the family or for yourself if on the go. Great flavors all in one handful. Banger and Mash Hand Pie

Ingredients:

• 2-4 Bangers casing removed, (I used Brats as that is what I had)
• 1/2 white onion sliced
• Left over mashed potato
• 1 store bought pie crust
• 1 tbs Balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbs Sugar
• 1 tsp dried Thyme
• Salt/Pepper

1. In a large skillet over medium heat sauté onions in a bit of butter until caramelized. 

2. Add in a splash of balsamic vinegar and 1 tbs sugar to help the caramelizing process and give some more flavor the the onions.

3. While doing this you can push them off to the side and toss in the bangers to brown. Break up the sausage into pieces.

4. Now roll out your store bought pie crust and cut into about 6 inch diameter circles using a cup, cutter, or bowl. Should get about 6. Do another pie crust the same way so to get tops for each pie. Total 12 in all.

5. Take a spoon full of leftover mashed potatoes and spread in the center.

6. Top with some sausage/onion mixture and cover with another pie crust.

7. Crimp the sides with a fork and slice 2 slits in the top of each one for steam to release.

8. Cook in a 350 F degree oven for roughly 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 2+

The perfect little Irish/English hand pies on the go. Will definitely make these again. 

Butterscotch Pie

Butterscotch Pie

 

 

 

     Was in one of those moods where I was craving a delicious dessert. I have no diner to head over too and the local grocery doesn't really make any good desserts, so I decided to take a try at making an old fashioned type of pie. One of those you only see in movies, or hear about from your mother or another older member of the family. So here goes; Butterscotch Pie. Creamy, nutty, sweet, and perfect topped with fresh meringue. 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbs flour
• 4 egg yolks, (save whites for meringue)
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Pie crust

 

1. In a medium size sauce pan over medium heat melt butter. Add brown sugar, salt, and cream and cook for roughly five minutes stirring constantly.

 

2. Mix in flour and whisk until well combined and no lumps remain.

 

3. Slowly temper egg yolks into the mixture so as not to scramble.

 

4. Add in milk and lower heat and cook for about 10 minutes stirring frequently.

 

5. Let cool and mix in vanilla. Pour into pie crust.

 

6. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until crust has browned.

 

7. Whip egg whites with 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Layer over pie and bake at 400 degrees until meringue browns on its peaks about 5 minutes.

 

This pie is perfectly sweet, filling, but also delicate in its flavors.

 

Prep Time: 0 min

Cook Time: 40 min

Serves: 4-8

 



Kolache

Kolache

     What is a Kolach you might ask? It is a Central European wedding dessert mostly Czech and Slovak that is a small piece of pastry with a tiny dollop of fruit placed and cooked in the center. I am making these little bites in honor of the month of September for my Foodies+ community. For this month we are "cooking a book". By this we mean take your favorite book and cook something from the pages of the story or create a dish that could represent that book.  I am also dedicating this recipe to my dear Aunt Candy who passed away and she used to make these quite a bit for reunions and such. Don't know why she did because we are neither Czech, Slovak, nor central European, but she did. Their delicate and delicious, light and tasty. Anyways, onward with the book idea.

     For this post I chose one of my favorite books by author Shirley Jackson called, We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

     A morbid comedy about two hermit sisters who have become recluses in their home with their elderly uncle after the sudden poisoning of their parents and brother years before. The one sister has been accused of murder but was let off. The story discusses their day to day routine of hiding out in their large home on their large grounds. The youngest sister, "Merricat" tells the story from her point of view. A bizarre little girl who dreams of running away to the moon with her cat and sister. She is morbid in her ideas, behaviors, and actions. She practices a sort of magic by burying things around the property for protection against the village people. As the story continues to its end she sets the house on fire in order to protect herself and her sister from the townspeople and a long lost cousin who turns out he just wants the money hidden in the house. You find out that it was Merricat who had poisoned her parents and brother. They end up boarding up and continuing to live in the house that now sort of resembles a castle with turrets as the house no longer has a roof.

     Within the story she discusses all the canned food items in the basement. She tells us that every female in the family would can goods from the gardens all the time to the point that the cellar is stocked piled with everything from vegetables to especially canned fruits and jams. That is where this little dish comes into play. I decided to represent this book by making Kolache. These little pastries are stuffed with some fresh apricot jam. The funny thing is that I actually had trouble making these as some burst opened and broke apart. I think I added too much of a dollop of jam to some of them. Anyways, while photographing these pastries’s my cat jumped on the table to sniff. I thought what a perfect picture just for this post as Merricat had her longtime companion of a cat Jonas. Please enjoy my Kolache.

Ingredients:

• 1 store bought pastry roll
• Apricot jam
• Drinking glass

     Roll out one slice of the pastry crust. Take a normal size glass and start pressing out little circles of dough. The one sheet makes roughly 15-18 little circles. Take a small, I stress small, dollop of apricot jam and place in the middle. Bring up the two sides in the middle, pinch, and press down till it makes a little bow tie looking pastry. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake in the oven at 425 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Viola!  A simple and quick little pastry with a fresh bite.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes.

Silly cat

Luck of the Irish: Beef and Guinness Pie With Colcannon

Beef and Guinness Pie and Colcannon

 



     It's that time of year, where everyone becomes Irish for the St. Patrick's Day festivities, at least here in the States.  Luckily, I can proudly call myself one without having any guilt to only using it as an excuse to drink heavily. I am just as proud of my Irish heritage as my other.  Growing up we had a few Irish dishes here and there only if eating at my paternal grandmother’s house or if my father decided to cook something.  While I was in Ireland a couple years ago my cousin had this wonderful dish on our last night in Dublin, a piping bowl of Beef and Guinness Stew.  We sat there and ate our wonderful dishes.  I had already had another stew on our trip and was attempting to eat something different every day. (Keyword here is attempted).  I will admit I did my fair share of eating Coddle and the famous breakfast many times.  Anyways, her plate of beef and carrots in a nice thick brown broth were fantastic.  I had seen it on many menus, whether alone or in a pie.  It is as famous of a dish as their Cottage/Shepherd's Pie or Irish Stew.

     During St. Patrick's Day it has become a tradition now at my house that I cook a traditional Irish meal and have family and friends over. We eat, drink, laugh, and typically go out to the bar.  This year we actually stayed in and played games.  Anyways, the point of this post is about the wonderful traditional dish that I made.  I am giving you two different recipes for this meal; one for the Pie and one for the wonderful side dish.  Another typical dish you will find in Ireland, Colcannon.  Colcannon is a simple mashed potato dish with a twist.  Add in some sautéed kale and green onion and you have a tangy, peppery, mashed potato that no one will push away.  Please enjoy my St. Patty's Day Meal.

Beef and Guinness Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb chuck roast
• Flour
• 4 tbs butter
• 1/2 white onion
• 1 cups carrots
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 1/3 cup Guinness
• 1 1/3 cup beef stock
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1/3 can crushed tomato
• 1 tbs Worcestershire
• Salt/ pepper
• 4 Store bought pie crust dough rolls

     Take the 1-1/2 lb chuck roast and slice it into bite size pieces.  Dust the beef with flour.  In a large sauté pan brown the beef in 2 tbs butter.  Once brown remove from the pan and set aside.  In same pan sauté the carrots, onion, and garlic in another 2 tbs butter just until fragrant and translucent.  Next pour in the stock and Guinness.  Scrape up the bits and pieces from the bottom of the pan.  Once the mixture is simmering toss in the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, tomato, and Worcestershire sauce. Turn heat down to very low, cover and simmer for 2 hours.  Stirring here and there to make sure the mixture is not sticking. If after an hour and a half  the sauce has not thickened to your liking you can create a slushy by removing some of the juice and adding it to more flour to create the thickener that you would then pour back in and incorporate.

     I took the store bought pie crust rolls and made six individual small pies from the dough provided by cutting them into smaller shapes.  You can create one large pie or as many small ones as you want.  As mentioned if using store bought small pie pans this recipe makes just enough for six people to enjoy their own little meat pie.

     Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Meanwhile create an egg wash and brush the mixture over each pie.  Cut slits into the top of each pie to allow the steam to escape.  Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until the crusts appear golden brown. 


Colcannon

Ingredients:

• 4 russet potatoes
• Small bunch of kale
• 1/2 cup diced green onion
• Milk
• Butter
• Red pepper flakes
• Olive oil
• Salt/ pepper

     Peel and dice the potatoes up into small bite size pieces.  Boil in a pot of water until the potatoes are fork tender.  Drain the water and toss in the butter and about a 1/3 cup of milk.  Mash the mixture into a smooth mashed potato. In a side sauté pan sauté the kale, diced green onion, and some red pepper flakes in some olive oil until nice and tender. Stir into the potato mixture, salt and pepper to taste, and serve.  Serves 4-5 people. 

     If you are not feeling the slightest bit Irish or ready to dance the Irish jig when you've finished with this dish, you my friend do not appreciate good cuisines.  Hope you all enjoy this Irish classic.  Definitely makes you realize that Irish cuisine is as good as any other.



Banoffee Pie

 

     During my trip to Ireland I discovered a wonderful dessert that I had never had before.  Being part Irish I was surprised to have never heard of this before.  It turns out that it is traditionally an English dessert but the similarities of the cuisines of the two cultures are much alike.  This pie is so easy and I have found a quick way to recreate this dish.  Remember, I'm not much of a baker, but I had to make this. One bite and you will be in love too.  Its very rich so one slice may be all you need for a couple days.  Luckily it was easily kept in the fridge. Please enjoy my version of Banoffee Pie.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 graham cracker piecrust, (store bought. I don't bake. Traditionally you should use biscuit cookies)
• * 1 stick butter
• * 1/2 cup brown sugar
• * 1 14oz can of condensed milk
• 2 bananas
• whipped cream
• cocoa

      In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium heat.  Mix in the brown sugar and stir until cooked.  Pour in the condensed milk and keep stirring.  Bring to a boil while continuing to stir and cook for a couple minutes.  Pour into already prepared piecrust and sit in fridge for at least an hour.  Slice bananas and place on top of cooled toffee.  Cover with whip cream, sprinkle some cocoa, and serve or chill.  This pie is a great combination of flavors that compliment each other perfectly.

 

*Hint-these ingredients make a substantial amount of toffee within the center of the pie.  Half the amounts to make less if you so choose.